Lamabb

I live In Putnam county New york. It's suburban, but I commute north 20 miles and it becomes almost rural. It's a mountainous commute by bicycle and when I'm churning myself up those hills I think to myself, "No wonder I never see any bicycle commuters around here, there are too many hills!".

What are your commutes like? are they like mine, hilly and suburban. Or are they urban and flat?

I want to get an idea as to what percentage of the commuting forum rides in cities vs more rural and hilly areas.

Titmawz

Kendall in Miami, FL. All flat and it is pretty central, I used to live in West Kendall and I have to admit that I hate the suburbs...

puppypilgrim

Urban in the city. I have a big ass hill to climb every day. Going home its easier...

wolfchild

I live and commute in the suburbs, but a lot of my recreational and long distance rides are on rural roads.

bhop

Los Angeles is urban, but it's not all flat..

runningDoc

I have a urban commute of around 12.5-11.0 miles (depending on the route) that goes through East Williamsburg through Williamsburg over the Williamsburg Bridge through Soho and China Town right onto the Hudson River and eventually into the Columbia University Hospital areas.

I've tried the nearer Queensboro Bridge Route, but the queens streets and that bridge is just not as bike friendly. My route is almost 80% up to 95% bike lane.

It takes about 1 hour and 10 mins to get there totally stress free and not tired or hurried. there is a surprising amount of ascents including the Williamsburg bridge and the upper west side area, but nothing a granny gear can't tackle stress free.

If i have an early procedure I'll be out of the house by 4:45am but most times I'll still take a quick shower beforehand then take another one after arriving.

The thing with NYC riding for me is that its easier to actually get around in the high density areas (Manhattan/Brooklyn) because traffic causes everyone to go slow (under 30mph) and be hyper aware - you're part of the regular flow of traffic. The further you go out into the boroughs the less bike traffic is encountered so every car's going a little faster and they are already going home (and paying less attention) - almost to a point that drivers are annoyed that a guy on a bike is slowing his drive home.

to commute by subway it still will take around an hour (not including delay's which have been plentiful on the weekends). by car its a crapshoot sometimes less than 30min or up to an hour if traffic).

either way I get some great exercise in and go through some of NYC most interesting places (hipster brooklyn, williamsburg bridge, soho/chinatown/west village/hudsonriver upper west side).

Titmawz

I was in NYC for the century ride last month, and I love cycling there ! But I could not do winters anymore >.<

tsl

Urban.

I'm with the doc--traffic is slower, and I blend right in with the flow. Divers are used to seeing cyclists too, so they have more experience around us.

As for grade, what grade? Seventy-five feet of climbing on my 4.5 mile route home tonight. And part of that was carrying the bike up to my third-floor apartment.

I have a favored route that's about twice the minimum and goes up and down all the hills along the southern border of the city. In the three seasons I try to hit that at least twice a week in each direction.

stdlrf11

Both. I start in urban, take the back country rural roads, which are pretty hilly (for north Texas), then travel into the ghetto, which takes me into the industrial area. Then the last little bit is through the rich urban area.

3speedslow

Here in middle N carolina, I find my ride to be mostly rural. It's 4.5 miles one way through mill town, neighborhood and back roads. It's a very slight downhill most of the way to work with one short hill upwards. Going home, just the reverse.

Very little traffic and no other bikes.

3speedslow

Andy_K 

Suburban. Rolling hills, lots of other commuters.

Vegas Trekker

My commute is urban, through fabulous Las Vegas. The roads here arent that great for riding though, alot of unfinished road construction after the housing market meltdown.

I envy you NYC bikers, the Big Appleseems like the perfect place to bike in the city.

bbeasley

10 to 20 miles (depending on route) round trip through rural suburbs. Almost no traffic, flat, and if you can take the summers you can ride all year.

zacster

Another NY'er here. My commute is from Brooklyn to Midtown Manhattan via the Manhattan Bridge. It is 9.5 miles of bike lanes on a 10 mile ride. The hills are small, the bridge being the biggest one. The traffic does move slowly on the streets, mostly. I was in Seattle for a week and found riding there, one of the "best" cycling cities to be pretty scary actually, and not from lack of familiarity. NYC has it beat.

I'm beginning to think that NY is one of the best cycling cities around with bike lanes everywhere in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The other boroughs aren't as well covered, but they're getting there.

groovestew

Urban, hilly by choice (I ride through the city's river valley).

JanMM

Suburban to urban to suburban. Pretty danged flat.

bijan

13km suburbs. Urban suburbs though. Mix of different terrain: residential streets, bike lane, arterial road (with freeway overpass), bike path, 200 feet of sidewalk...

Only one stretch that's flat, but no big climbs either. I see bikes, but doubt there are many commuters. Though I work right next to a gym and there are usually bikes parked in the rack in front of the gym, so definitely some cycling for transportation.

b_young

I can go 10 miles to work and not even see a stop sign. Or I can take the heavy traffic route and have 3 stop lights. So I guess that would be rural. I do commute on a 4 lane road with 55+ mph traffic for about 3 miles though.

B. Carfree

Now I do neither: my city is just one big suburb. Prior to moving into town (kicking and screaming), my commute was 40 miles of rural hills on the way in and 60 miles of slightly bigger hills ( cat 3 and 4) on the way home. A decade before that my commute was suburban to rural to urban, but it was one of the flattest parts of the Sac. valley and only 25 miles each way. Urban, flat, rural, hilly, suburban: they all have their pluses and minuses.

nashcommguy

My commute is 40 miles rt. Almost all rural except for about 2 miles right at the last. The elevation difference is 500 ft down workward and up homeward. Gentle hills except one 18% grade on the way home...grrrr. Working 2nd shift is nice, though because I've got the whole road to myself once I get away from the factory. There have been nights when I wasn't passed by a single car either direction. It's amazing how quiet it can get.

Spent the first 18 years of my cycle-commuting life urban. Chicago, Pittsburgh and Nashville. They all had different flow in terms of traffic and tolerance. Pittburgh is NOT for the faint of heart or spindly legs. Crazy, unexplainable traffic patterns...my son, who lives there says that Pittsburgh's the only town that will have a 6 turn detour w/only 4 direction arrows. Bridges everywhere, but a VERY deep cycling community. Just go to www.dannychew.com and click on the link that says 'dirty dozen' and you'll get the idea. It's got 3 or 4 of the steepest paved streets in the world. Pittsburgh is like cycling bootcamp. Hate it while your there, but have respect for the lessons learned while in that enviornment. Nashville was a breeze after having lived in da'Burgh for 10 years. Chicago was busy, but really flat. I learned alot about winter clothing the 2 years I spent commuting there.

cyclokitty 

Urban and flat with occasional hill. My current route is flat and an easy 15 minute ride with only 2 stop lights with a bunch of stop signs. During rush hour my route is busy but that works to my advantage because I can ride past all the stopped cars and pause briefly with the front car and then follow it thru the intersection. It's a great little cheat.

yochris 

4 mile commute through San Francisco with plenty of lights and stop signs. Lots of car and bike traffic but also plenty of dedicated bike lanes. The way in to work is mostly downhill. The way home is a jog through side streets to avoid most of the hills but I live on a big one right in the middle of the city so the last few blocks I get to pump it up a pretty good hill.

Kip

My 5 mile ride to work is suburban with a couple minor hills and four traffic lights. Typically, depending on weather, daylight and schedule I'll take a rural loop on the way home adding another 20 miles and significant hills.

JPprivate

80% suburban, mostly on MUP & residential streets. no hills.

mikeybikes

I guess suburban? Though I consider it more somewhere between suburban and urban.

I've done the commuting in the suburbs out here, lots of high speed arterials, no bike infrastructure, lots of yelling, flipping off, etc. A couple decent hills.

I've done the commuting in the urban core in downtown Denver. Lots of slow traffic that respects bicyclists. Some infrastructure, mostly bike lanes. Mostly flat. Steepest part is when I go into or come out of the cherry creek trail.

The commute I do now is somewhere in between. Traffic density is fairly low. The main arterial outside my front door is 35mph, not exactly high speed. I follow a bike lane for a small portion of the commute. The further away from campus I get, the less driver's show respect. A few big hills as half of Golden sits on a bluff.